863 Dancing with the Devil

Making babies? Anthony suddenly had a strong sense of foreboding.

He immediately abandoned the second question preset by the Knight of Swords and straightforwardly asked, "Who is making babies?"

The servant replied, his confusion tinged with fear. "Everyone is! The women are giving birth, and so are the men!"

Men are giving birth too... Anthony felt a shiver run down his spine and nearly used Placate himself.

He took another gold coin from his pocket and smiled at the servant.

"Did you forget you dropped another Louis d'or?"

The servant thought the Louis d'or's shine had entered the other man's eyes.

He assumed the man was trying to bribe him and hastily nodded.

"Yes, yes, I forgot."

As he spoke, the servant's thoughts became fuzzy, as if he heard something but also didn't.

When he came to his senses, he had forgotten what had just happened, and the Louis d'or in his hand was gone.

In an alley two streets away from the market, Anthony saw Maric, the Knight of Swords, reflected in a puddle left by last night's sudden rain.

Before the Knight of Swords could speak, Anthony quickly relayed the information he had gathered and then said, "The indulgence faction only indulges desires, not making babies. That's not their hallmark, right?"

The repression in the Knight of Swords' eyes had lessened slightly. He said gravely, "Followers of the Primordial Moon within the indulgence faction do occasionally, but not to the extent where even men give birth."

Anthony said in a serious tone, "Based on the behavior of those indulgence faction members, their bringing a significant item to Trier, the brewing of Project Vortex, and the fact that its leaders are Brokers who worship an evil god, I suspect that the Mother Tree of Desire worshiped by the indulgence faction and the Great Mother worshiped by the Nightstalkers have started collaborating on something, which is a crucial part of Project Vortex!"

Since the Knight of Swords had come to Trier, he naturally knew about Project Vortex from his Major Arcana card holder. He replied in a low voice, "Your suspicion is alarming. I will immediately report this to Ma'am Hermit and the higher-ups of our faction. If necessary, we will take decisive action."

Anthony nodded. "It would be best to inform the authorities as well. In Trier, no one is better suited to handle this than them. I need to return to my companions and warn them to be on guard against the coming vortex!"

With that, Anthony was about to leave the alley. "My companion will take you to find the Seven of Wands; it will be faster this way," the Knight of Swords called out to Anthony. "We will give you the promised reward once the situation stabilizes."

The Minor Arcana card holder quickly vanished from the puddle's surface.

He was eager to write to his Major Arcana card holder, The Hermit.

...

In the Quartier de la Cathdrale Commmorative, Apartment 702 on 9 Rue Orosai.

Franca and Jenna were squeezed together on the sofa, comparing the Loen gold pounds in their hands.

"I can feel they are somewhat special, but I don't know what makes them special," Franca said happily.

She then looked up at Lumian, who had taken her spot.

"Mr. Star's reward is this, haha, now you're the only one without one!"

Lumian found it amusing and remarked, "Did you forget about Anthony? And Lugano doesn't have one either."

Jenna glanced at Franca, who was leaning on her, and said thoughtfully, "When I first got the lucky coin, I thought it was a gift, but after you and Ludwig got yours, I began to suspect they might be symbols or tokens. We might all experience something together in the future.

"Lumian is special in many ways; he will get involved sooner or later, and he will get a coin eventually."

"At least he doesn't have one now," Franca said, showing off her lucky coin.

After discussing this for a while, Franca put away her lucky coin and asked Lumian about the serious matter, "How is Ludwig's 'training' going?"

"He follows my orders well now. The next step is to go through some experiences together to build rapport with you all," Lumian thought for a moment. "I'll design tasks accordingly. With a small team, it should take two or three weeks to achieve this."

"I'll probably finish digesting the Affliction potion before your advancement. The main issue now is convincing the Demoness of Black that I can digest it so quickly." In the past few days, Franca's progress in digesting the Affliction potion had advanced significantly, and she estimated she needed only about a week more.

Jenna fell silent for a moment before saying, "My Pleasure potion is fully digested. I just need a couple of days to prepare for the ritual to become a Demoness of Affliction."

"So soon?" Franca exclaimed in surprise.

Jenna looked at Franca with a complex expression but did not answer.

Franca was stunned for a moment, then said, "Oh."

She understood why, which made her feelings even more complicated, with a mix of bitterness, sadness, joy, and smugness.

"I have given Jenna the potion ingredients and the remaining Ice Lemon Fish fillet," Lumian added.

"Okay." Franca quickly adjusted her mindset.

Feeling Jenna leaning against her, smelling her fragrance, and looking at Lumian, who had taken her spot and was mimicking her sitting posture, Franca suddenly felt that the past couple of days had been quite enjoyable and reassuring. Except for occasional pain and sadness, everything was great. Lumian was even expressing his importance to her more actively, though not much.

Since her transmigration, it was the first time Franca had felt this way.

Well, well, let's just say I've built a harem, except... Franca sighed inwardly.

She hoped these times would last longer, and that the vortex and the apocalypse would never come.

At that moment, Lumian turned his head and looked towards the side door of the living room.

Anthony's figure quickly took shape there.

"I have important information," Anthony said directly.

Lumian stood up from the armchair and gestured for Anthony to continue.

Anthony quickly relayed the information he had gathered from the servant and his own speculations.

During this, Jenna and Franca, the two Demonesses, both had a premonition of danger from their spirituality.

Lumian said without hesitation, "I'll inform Madam Magician immediately, then meet up with Ludwig and Lugano and move to a new safe house. We'll wait for instructions from the Major Arcana card holders."

...

Above the endless gray fog, in an ancient and majestic palace.

On either side of a mottled bronze table, figures shrouded in gray fog quickly formed.

There were eight of them.

The seats at the head and foot of the table were empty.

Miss Justice stood up, looked around, and said, "This is an emergency meeting with Mr. Fool's permission."

Madam Magician did not waste time. Once Miss Justice sat down, she immediately asked Mr. Star across from her, "Was it your idea or a hint from the Church of Evernight to send the Two of Cups to fetch water from the Samaritan Woman's Spring?"

Mr. Star sat upright this time.

"It was a revelation I received in a dream."

"A dream... Is the Evernight Goddess reminding us to pay attention to Harrison?

Yes, She should know that Harrison has entered and exited the Samaritan Woman's Spring several times and mastered the pattern..." Madam Magician did not ask further and turned to Ma'am Hermit on her side, "Has Queen Mystic conveyed any information?"

Ma'am Hermit shook her head, then said after recalling, "She hasn't contacted me for a while. I tried to reach her a couple of days ago but received no response..."

As she spoke, Ma'am Hermit suddenly paused, foreseeing a scene.

Then, she saw the gaze of Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. Moon, Mr. Sun, and Madam Judgment all fall on her, their expressions solemn and their eyes full of undisguised vigilance.

...

Tossed high into the air by a storm, then slammed back into the vortex of the sea, the Dawn struggled to maintain its balance, like a toy thrown into the ocean.

There was not a single sailor on its deck; the sails and ropes moved on their own as if controlled by invisible hands.

After a long time, the storm finally subsided, and the Dawn, the flagship of Queen Mystic, soon stabilized.

Ahead, an island covered in dark green, nearly black, giant trees slowly emerged under the blue sky and white clouds.

Wearing a floral shirt and a brown captain's coat, Queen Mystic-Bernadette- stepped out of the cabin and walked to the bow.

Her blue eyes were as deep as the ocean, her straight eyebrows extended gracefully, and her naturally flowing chestnut hair reached her waist. She wore pants and boots for ease of movement.

Empty-handed, Queen Mystic gazed at the island, her eyes darkening, her face expressionless.

As the island drew nearer, another person emerged from the cabin.

This person was also a woman, with black hair and brown eyes, a pretty face, and the typical appearance of a Loenese. She wore a dark robe with many pockets and different flowers embroidered on it, a favorite outfit of ancient merchants.

Overseer Perle!

This evil god worshiper and initiator of Project Vortex appeared on Queen Mystic's ship!

Perle walked to the bow and stood beside Bernadette, also gazing at the island, a clear smile on her face.